One Night Stand
by ardhrianna
Summary: If you believe in forever, then life is just a one night stand...


One Night Stand

RATING: G

SUMMARY: If you believe in forever, then life is just a one night stand...

DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters. Some very, very rich man does. I just own a bunch of cards... I love my Dark Magicians.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Not really any spoilers. Inspired by the song "Rock n' Roll Heaven" by the Righteous Brothers. Just an introspective piece, written for the tempsmort community's "Resolution" challenge. Written in about 44 minutes.

DEDICATION: For you. Yes, you

* * *

_If you believe in forever,_

_Then life is just a one-night stand..._

* * *

New Year's Eve was always a busy time. Even Yami seemed to sense that Yugi was not in the mood for idle chat, because he'd been silent all day. Yugi couldn't even feel his faint presence, and while he secretly wondered why the spirit had withdrawn so, he was thankful for the chance to finish all his chores just in time for the celebration to start.

Jou was the first to arrive, as always, Shizuka right behind him. Anzu was next, followed closely by Honda. At Shizuka's request, Otogi had also been invited, but he had informed them he couldn't make it until sometime the next day. Yugi's grandfather made a graceful exit after greeting Yugi's friends, leaving the kids to enjoy the night in each other's company. Grandfather had even supplied them with a small bottle of sake, although Yugi had had to promise they wouldn't drink it until midnight.

"Do you wonder what next year will bring?" Shizuka asked at one point, interrupting her brother's duel with Anzu.

"Nah," was Jou's response. "I just take it as it comes. No sense worrying about the future when it hasn't arrived yet."

"I do," Anzu said. "I wonder if I'll do well on exams, or if I'll ever get to be a dancer in America. I need to think about the future, to remind myself what I want out of life."

Shizuka nodded. "I worry about my entrance exams, and whether I'll ever be asked out on a date."

"Wait, what date!" Jou nearly shouted. "Shizuka, have boys been harassing you? I'll beat them up!"

Giggling, Shizuka said, "Nii-san, boys haven't been bothering me."

"You tell me if they do."

"It's your move," Anzu reminded Jou. "Are you going to make it or what?"

"Woman, hold on a minute!"

"I've been waiting for five minutes! Now make your move or I'll attack your lifepoints directly."

Grumbling, Jou finally made his move before looking over at Yugi and Honda. "What about you guys? Do you think about the future?"

"Not really," said Honda. "Like you said, no sense worrying about things that haven't happened yet."

There was a long silence, before Yugi finally said, "I think about the future. I can't help it, because I know that someday Yami and I will have to duel, and he may return to the darkness forever. Or he may get his own body. We won't know until we duel."

That effectively killed the festive mood.

Shizuka looked contrite. "I'm sorry I asked, Yugi-san."

"Don't be, Shizuka-chan. It's something that Yami and I have talked about, and we are prepared to face that day when it comes. For now, all we can do is live as normally as we... well, I, can."

"Do you think he thinks about it?" Anzu asked.

Yugi shrugged. "I haven't asked him, and he hasn't mentioned it. He's been really quiet recently and I don't want to bug him, whatever he's thinking about." Yugi sent a gentle nudge along the link to see if Yami was listening in, and got only the faintest sense of his presence. Whatever he was doing, he was about as far away as he could be without actually leaving their shared body. It felt almost like he was hiding behind a brick wall. Yugi glanced at the clock then and grinned. "Anyway, guys, it's almost midnight. Jou, Anzu, will you finish your duel in the next five minutes?"

"Not without one of your God Cards," Jou groused. "Where did you GET those cards, Anzu? You didn't have them last time we dueled!"

Anzu smiled sweetly. "That's for me to know and you to never find out. Let's just say I win, okay? I have more lifepoints than you do."

"I'm a ranked duelist, and I got beat by a girl," Jou grumbled, putting his hand over his deck to signal his surrender. "It's not fair." Yugi just laughed and went into the kitchen to get the sake and five small cups. Grandfather had also left some traditional treats on the counter, so Yugi grabbed those, too, balancing them carefully on the tray he'd dragged out of the cupboard.

At the stroke of midnight, they raised their cups and toasted to the passage of the old year, and the coming of the new year. They stayed up talking long into the night, until they headed outside just as the sun was breaking over the horizon. They climbed, en massed, up onto the roof to watch the first sunrise of the year. Superstition said that this was the best time to make wishes and resolutions for the new year.

While the others quietly talked amongst themselves, Yugi slipped into his 'soul room' to search out his elusive other half. Yami was there, he just wasn't making himself easy to find. Yugi finally found him in a corner of the maze that Yami called his own soul room. He was staring at the wall blankly, obviously not even seeing it.

"Yami?" Yugi ventured.

"Yes, aibou?" Yami's eyes focused on his partner with a stare so intent Yugi almost took a step back out of reflex.

"Are you okay? You've been quiet."

"I've been listening. You seemed busy earlier and I didn't bother you."

"New Year's is always busy. But it's worth it, getting to spend time with your friends to celebrate the old year, and ring in the new year."

Yami almost smiled. "I do not remember what it was like in my time; if we even had such celebrations. I imagine we did."

"Yami..." Yugi almost kicked himself for reminding the spirit of the gaps in his memory.

"Do not worry about it, aibou. My full memory will return someday. Bits and pieces of it come back to me almost daily."

"Come see the sunrise with me," Yugi suddenly said. "Come see how we celebrate the turning of the years in this time."

"Alright, aibou." Wordlessly, Yami allowed his mind to flow into Yugi's until he was seeing through the other boy's eyes. Together, they watched the sun come up, turning the sky brilliant shades of red and gold.

"Make a wish, Yami," Yugi whispered to his other half. "It's traditional to make a wish." Yami was silent, and Yugi assumed he was doing as he had been asked.

"Do you believe in forever, aibou?" Yami finally asked. "Do you believe that the soul dies after death, never to be reborn?"

Yugi thought about that for a moment. "I believe in rebirth," he said, guessing in the back of his mind why Yami was asking. "I believe that two souls who are meant to be together will always find each other in the end. Even if it takes them lifetimes, they will find each other. You cannot separate those who are meant to be together."

"Truly?"

"Yes. To a soul, life is like a one night stand. Short, but part of a greater whole."

"I find myself wondering what will happen to me after..."

"I know, Yami. I wonder, too. But no matter what happens, our souls will always find each other in the end. We are the proverbial two sides of the same coin."

Yami paused to consider Yugi's words. "The same coin?" he repeated softly. Then, "thank you, aibou, I will try to believe in forever."


End file.
